Apple Inc.

Paul Richard Wenker

Michael Victor Stein

Jon D Butah

Mark Alfred Neubieser

A method for providing security in a networked multimedia computing system is provided wherein an administrative workstation is challenged by a network workstation when the administrative workstation is attempting to manipulate or query the network workstation. The administrative workstation responds in an automatic fashion to supply a series of logically acceptable password candidates to the challenging workstation in an attempt to validate itself to the challenging network workstation without interrupting a user. If none of the series of passwords is successful, an administrator, or user, operating the administrative workstation is prompted to manually enter a password. The system allows for an administrative workstation to automatically and transparently validate itself to a challenging network workstation, in most situations, without requiring input from the administrator. Another aspect of the invention involves a system for generating reports concerning user-selected hardware and software attributes for one or more network workstations.

Security and report generation system for networked multimedia workstations

A supervisory arrangement for a networked multimedia computing system provides features which facilitate the use and control of the networked system. One disclosed feature enables slave workstations to request attention from a master station. At the master workstation, multiple requests are prioritized in order of receipt, so that a supervisor or administrator is prompted to respond to the oldest pending request. As soon as the request is responded to, for example by audio communication with the slave station, the request is automatically cleared without the need for any input by the administrator or the person who made the request.

Displaying workstations requests in differentiating manner according to their respective priorities

Security and report generation system for networked multimedia

A graphical user interface for a computer includes an arrangement of icons that provides for a large number of icons to be present on screen while maintaining a large amount of useable screen space. An icon text description setting out the icon's function is provided adjacent to each icon. The icon text description is presented in truncated form when the icon is not designated by a cursor. When the icon is designated by a cursor, the icon text description is expanded to a full length thereby more fully describing the icon's function. When an icon is designated by a cursor, the text descriptions for undesignated icons are blanked, thereby focusing attention on the designated icon. This arrangement has the desirable effect of providing a user with a ready means of identifying or reaffirming icon function while avoiding the consumption of useful screen space.

Graphical user interface with icons having expandable descriptors

A supervisory control system for a networked multimedia computing system that addresses the foregoing limitations associated with currently existing systems provides a teacher or network administrator at a master workstation with the ability to open a specified document on selected remote workstations in the network. If the document is not already present on the various remote workstations, the teacher can first transmit it to each one that does not already have it. At the remote workstations, the document is stored at the same location as it is in the master workstation, to facilitate finding it on subsequent occasions. When a command is sent to open the document, it is identified by specific attributes that enable it to be distinguished from other documents that may have the same name. With this feature, a teacher can easily reset an entire computer lab so that each student will be at the same position for the beginning of a new class, for example. This same feature can also be used to launch application programs at destination workstations, as well as quit applications on selected workstations.

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Milpitas, CA, United States of America

Paul Richard Wenker